Chapter 78: Meng’er, don’t be afraid of what I’m about to say

“What’s wrong? Are you feeling unwell?”

He Qiu watched Zi Menghan sit there in a daze, not reacting for a long time, and couldn’t help asking.

Zi Menghan quickly shook her head.

“No, it’s just that seeing how Young Master He is still so young yet possesses such talent, this little girl truly envies you…”

“Not bad.”

Having been complimented by his personal maid, He Qiu didn’t bother with meaningless modesty.

He nodded and went back to reading his book.

After a while, he closed the book and said, “Master assigned a lot of homework today.

I’m going back to my room to rest now. Miss Meng’er can bathe on her own.”

“Ah, yes… Young Master, please go ahead.”

The young girl nodded slightly, watching the white-robed boy walk back to his room alone, book in hand.

She couldn’t help feeling a little stunned.

‘What’s going on? Today’s Young Master He seems really busy…’

Following the usual pattern, Zi Menghan felt that He Qiu should have stayed to chat with her a bit longer.

Besides, he had just scared her with a technique specifically aimed at demon cultivators.

Shouldn’t he have pressed his advantage and tried to make her reveal more openings?

‘And also… no shared bath today?’

Shaking her head, Zi Menghan stopped overthinking and carried the tea back to her own room.

If he wasn’t going to bother her, she was happy about it!

The young girl sat alone on her bed, hugging a pillow as she stared blankly at the ceiling.

Her mind wandered in a stream of images, but no matter how she shifted scenes, she couldn’t escape the connection to that white-robed boy.

‘I’m falling for him… and that’s made my heart a mess.’

Zi Menghan wasn’t stupid.

No one understood her own thoughts better than she did.

Of course she knew why her head had been full of He Qiu all day.

Ever since that night she had fainted in his arms and fallen asleep cradled by him…

A seed had been planted, sprouting in the girl’s heart.

Something had changed.

‘My heart is so unsettled. I can’t calm down at all.’

“Forget it. I’ll just cultivate the demonic technique to treat my poison injury…”

After a long period of random thoughts, Zi Menghan finally sighed in resignation.

She set up a simple detection barrier outside her door, then sat cross-legged and began circulating demonic qi.

As the demonic power cycled, the spirit veins beneath her skin activated.

The girl’s entire body was enveloped in a hazy purple mist.

Wrapped in demonic qi, a pair of illusory purple cat ears appeared faintly on top of her head, as well as… a long, slender tail between her legs.

…

Late at night, in the small pavilion nestled among the trees, two desk lamps glowed, one in the front and one in the back.

The left window showed Zi Menghan sitting on her bed, practicing her technique.

The right window revealed the white-robed boy studying a book.

He Qiu leaned against the window, frowning slightly.

He had hit a bottleneck while cultivating a certain spirit art.

‘For the Anti-Demonic Incantation, I need to find a target to test it on…’

He joined two fingers, gathering spiritual energy into a single point, and observed the technique in his hand as he muttered quietly.

What the books taught was ultimately just theory.

The basics were fine, but the deeper theories became harder and harder to understand.

He Qiu urgently needed to test the spirit arts he had mastered to break through further.

But simple spirit arts weren’t fun to practice alone, and complex ones often had harsh activation conditions.

He needed a technique that was neither too simple nor too low in rank.

The most suitable candidate was the rank-4 spirit art [Anti-Demonic Incantation]: once cast on a target, it would add an invisible protective barrier that could deflect any demonic qi trying to attack the protected person.

It was specially designed to counter demon cultivator ambushes.

However, this technique was mainly used to assist others.

He Qiu had cast it on himself a few times, but felt nothing.

There was no feedback at all.

‘As expected, I need to find a subject to try it on…’

As soon as this thought popped into his mind, He Qiu immediately had a target.

Li Mengxin—Miss Meng’er.

Wasn’t she the perfect lab rat right in front of him? Or rather, a sparring partner.

Besides, this incantation was specifically designed to counter demon cultivators.

He Qiu was often away during the day.

What if some demon cultivator sneaked into the sect and attacked home?

Miss Meng’er was just a young girl—how dangerous would that be!

So this definitely wasn’t about using some young lady as an experiment.

He Qiu was genuinely concerned about Miss Meng’er’s safety!

Look at that—always thinking about the people around him.

What a good man.

‘Junior Brother has a kind heart. What ill intentions could he have?’

When the critical moment came and this technique saved Miss Meng’er’s life, she’d definitely be grateful to He Qiu!

With that decided, He Qiu grabbed the [Anti-Demonic Incantation] manual and, with a heart full of good intentions, pushed open the door.

…

Late at night,

Zi Menghan was alone in her room, having cultivated the demonic technique for several hours.

She was finally tired and lay down on the bed to rest.

Her chest felt tight, and she had a vague sense of foreboding…

But He Qiu hadn’t come to see her all night, nor had he bullied her.

Strangely, that made her a bit uneasy.

It was as if, if she didn’t get “disciplined” by He Qiu for one day, her skin itched and she felt uncomfortable.

Well, maybe that analogy wasn’t quite right.

Still, today’s He Qiu was eerily quiet, and Zi Menghan couldn’t get used to it.

‘It’s already dark. That guy… could he have fallen asleep already?’

‘Is he really not planning to do anything to me tonight? Just going to sleep like that?’

‘Tomorrow, is he going to stay away all day again…’

Lying in bed, hugging her pillow, the girl mumbled to herself out of sheer boredom.

Just then, a disturbance flickered in Zi Menghan’s spirit consciousness.

The detection array she had set at the door reacted.

Instantly, the girl perked up.

She hastily pulled the blanket over herself and stared nervously at the door, like a little black cat hiding under a sofa, watching the enemy—

Knock knock knock!

“Miss Meng’er, are you asleep?”

“Not… not yet!”

After a pause, Zi Menghan probed, “What is it this late, Young Master He?”

“There really is something I’d like to discuss with you. May I come in and sit for a bit?”

‘As expected, he came after all…’

Zi Menghan thought to herself.

Late at night, a young man from the orthodox path visiting… She didn’t know if she should feel uneasy, afraid, or excited, thrilled.

Right now, her heart was pounding.

She felt that a lone man and woman in the dead of night was incredibly stimulating, even a little exhilarating.

“Then… come in.”

Zi Menghan didn’t get out of bed to open the door herself, but let He Qiu come in on his own.

She liked shrinking like this under the covers—it gave her a sense of security.

She didn’t want to stand in front of He Qiu in a thin dress again, always flustered under his gaze.

She didn’t want him to see her flustered.

Click—

The boy got permission and pushed the door open.

Then he channeled his spiritual energy, lighting the desk lamp next to the door handle.

The room was filled with candlelight, and the cute face of the purple-haired girl burrowed under the blanket was fully visible to him.

Under the moonlight and shadows, a dark silhouette gradually cast over the girl’s snow-white face.

He cleared his throat, walked to the bedside, put down the manual he was holding, and then looked at the spot next to the girl’s pillow.

After a moment of hesitation, Zi Menghan took the hint and scooted over to the edge of the bed, making room for He Qiu to sit.

He Qiu sat down, took a deep breath, and said seriously, “Miss Meng’er, what I’m about to tell you… don’t be afraid.”